M2M FEATURE NEWS

Industry Leaders Standardize Echelon's Open Smart Grid Protocol

The Energy Services Network Association (ESNA), a non-profit corporation composed of utilities, manufacturers, and integrators announced that it will publish, maintain, and certify devices compatible with the Open Smart Grid Protocol (OSGP). Echelon Corporation’s the Open Smart Grid Protocol, which is built on open, proven standards for control networking, and pioneered, has become a de facto standard for smart meters and smart grid infrastructure. By publishing OSGP as an open standard, it will enable independent implementation of interoperable meters and other smart grid devices from multiple vendors on the same network. This gives utilities the ability to buy "best of breed" products and to avoid vendor lock-in that increases costs and reduces innovation. The announcement was made today at Metering Europe in Vienna, Austria, and was supported by an array of manufacturers, integrators, and utilities.

In a press release, Gordon Pedersen, president of ESNA and head of smart grid projects at SEAS-NVE, the largest consumer-owned utility in Denmark, said, “Standards will speed the development and deployment of the smart grid. The smart grid is about more than just smart meters, it is smart meters, smart sensors, smart switchgear and other smart equipment working together to make the grid more reliable, robust, and efficient. OSGP fills a void in the market by bringing an open, field-proven, standard that addresses the needs of a broad range of smart grid devices, and not just smart meters. Working with our members and partners, ESNA looks forward to formalizing and publishing OSGP as a European and international standard for smart grid communications to benefit utilities, their customers, and suppliers.”

Ron Sege, president and CEO of Echelon said, “Every market has benefited from open standards, from telecommunications to ecommerce. OSGP promises to do exactly the same for the smart grid market -- energizing, expanding and catalyzing its growth in existing markets and opening new ones. Echelon has a long history of creating de facto market standards that mature into sanctioned standards by governing bodies worldwide. Given the huge market adoption and tremendous support from industry leaders, we expect to achieve similar results with OSGP.”

Recently, Echelon was in news when the company introduced the new Echelon Control System (ECoS), along with Edge Control Node 7000 (ECN) to transform the electric grid.

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Sujata Garud is a IoTevolutionworld freelancer with three years of writing/editing experience and two years of market research experience. As an editor she has covered the IT, electronics, banking, pharma, construction, mining and healthcare industries. To see more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.